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Pre-emptive Local Anesthesia and Emergence Behavior After Pediatric Dental General Anesthesia

Effects of Pre-emptive Local Anesthesia on Emergence Behavior and Early Recovery Quality After Ambulatory Pediatric Dental General Anesthesia: A Parallel-Group Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07604337
Acronym
PEDLA-QOR
Enrollment
80
Registered
2026-05-22
Start date
2026-06-01
Completion date
2026-12-01
Last updated
2026-06-09

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Emergence Delirium, Pediatric Dental General Anesthesia, Postoperative Recovery

Keywords

Pre-emptive local anesthesia, Pediatric anesthesia, Dental anesthesia, Emergence behavior, QoR-15 Pictorial, Ambulatory surgery

Brief summary

This study will evaluate whether pre-emptive local anesthesia improves early recovery after ambulatory pediatric dental general anesthesia. Children aged 7-12 years scheduled for dental treatment under general anesthesia will be randomly assigned to receive either pre-emptive local anesthesia or no local anesthesia. Emergence delirium, pain, sedation level, and recovery quality will be assessed during the early postoperative period. The primary outcome will be the longitudinal Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium Scale score during the first 30 minutes in the post-anesthesia care unit.

Detailed description

This is a prospective, single-center, assessor-blinded, parallel-group randomized controlled trial in children aged 7-12 years undergoing ambulatory dental treatment under general anesthesia. Participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to one of two groups: pre-emptive local anesthesia or no local anesthesia. In the pre-emptive local anesthesia group, local anesthesia will be administered by the pediatric dentist before the dental procedure according to the planned treatment area. In the no local anesthesia group, local anesthesia will not be routinely administered. If clinically required, rescue analgesia or additional local anesthesia may be administered at the discretion of the responsible clinician and will be recorded. Preoperative anxiety will be assessed using the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale. In the post-anesthesia care unit, sedation and arousal will be assessed using the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale before each emergence delirium and pain assessment. Emergence delirium will be evaluated using the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium Scale at 0, 5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes after arrival in the post-anesthesia care unit, only when the child meets predefined arousal criteria. Pain will be assessed using the Faces Pain Scale-Revised at the same time points. Recovery quality before discharge will be assessed using the QoR-15 Pictorial form. The study aims to determine whether reducing peri-emergence nociceptive input with pre-emptive local anesthesia improves emergence delirium severity, postoperative pain, and recovery quality in children undergoing ambulatory dental general anesthesia.

Interventions

Pre-emptive local anesthesia will be administered by the pediatric dentist before the dental procedure according to the planned treatment area. The local anesthetic agent, total volume, total dose, dose per kilogram, and injection sites will be recorded.

DRUGArticaine Hydrochloride With Epinephrine

Articaine hydrochloride with epinephrine will be administered as local anesthesia by the pediatric dentist before the dental procedure in participants randomized to the pre-emptive local anesthesia group. The total volume, total dose, dose per kilogram, and injection sites will be recorded.

Sponsors

seher orbay yasli
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

The clinician performing the local anesthesia cannot be masked. Post-anesthesia care unit assessments, including emergence behavior, pain, sedation level, and recovery quality, will be performed by an outcomes assessor blinded to group allocation.

Intervention model description

Participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either pre-emptive local anesthesia or no local anesthesia during ambulatory pediatric dental general anesthesia.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
7 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Children aged 7 to 12 years * ASA physical status I or II * Scheduled for ambulatory dental treatment under general anesthesia * Ability to understand and respond to age-appropriate pain and recovery assessment tools * Written informed consent obtained from a parent or legal guardian * Child assent obtained when appropriate

Exclusion criteria

* Known allergy or contraindication to local anesthetic agents * Developmental delay or cognitive impairment preventing assessment * Autism spectrum disorder or severe behavioral disorder * Neurological disease affecting behavior or consciousness * Chronic analgesic or sedative medication use * Severe hepatic, renal, cardiac, or respiratory disease * Emergency dental procedure * Need for postoperative hospital admission * Inability to complete postoperative assessment tools

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium Scale Score During Early RecoveryPACU minutes 0, 5, 10, 15, and 30Emergence delirium will be assessed using the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium Scale. The scale includes five items: eye contact, purposeful actions, awareness of surroundings, restlessness, and consolability. Each item is scored from 0 to 4, with a total score ranging from 0 to 20. Higher scores indicate more severe emergence delirium symptoms. Assessments will be performed only when the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale score is ≥ -1.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Postoperative Pain ScorePACU minutes 0, 5, 10, 15, and 30Pain will be assessed using the Faces Pain Scale-Revised. Scores range from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater pain intensity.
Recovery Quality Before DischargeBefore discharge on day of surgeryRecovery quality will be assessed using the QoR-15 Pictorial form before discharge. The total score ranges from 0 to 150, with higher scores indicating better postoperative recovery quality.

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Contacts

CONTACTSeher Orbay Yaşlı, Assistant Professor of Anesthe
sehersin81@hotmail.com+905052401933

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jun 10, 2026